Darkness vs Darkness
by Shawn Sousa
Summary: Hayku has entered a new tournement.But will he survive? IT IS FINISHED PLEAZE READ AND REVIEW. THE KIDS AT MY SKOOL LIKE IT AND IT IS REALLY COOL. IF ANYONE COULD HELP ME FIX IT, PLEAZE DO!
1. Chapter 1

Author Name: Shawn Sousa  
Title: Darkness vs. Darkness  
Rating: probably 15 or over  
Warnings: contains SOME graphic scenes of violence/death, though they're not too bad...  
Genre: Action  
Summary: A new tournament has started in town, each level of the challenge  
descending ever deeper into the earth. As Hayku faces each challenge,  
something is unlocked within him, and unleashed upon the world.  
NOTE: this does NOT actually include any of the characters within the  
anime/manga series, merely based around the cards game, and some  
concepts in the anime.

DARKNESS VS. DARKNESS

It had only been several days ago that it was announced a new tournament  
would be held that would change the way people duelled. Hayku couldn't see  
what was so special about it.  
There had to be something more interesting to do than just crushing amateur  
duellists with impunity.  
The system was simple, there were ten duelling arenas for a normal duel, or  
a tag team match between four duellists, two on each side. Each match won  
would grant the winner (or winners) an amount of points equal to his or her  
remaining life points. This score was kept on their duel disk, and each  
duellist started out with 0 points. When a duellist lost a duel, he or she  
would lose 8000 points. When the score counter reaches 0 or lower, then they  
were knocked out of the tournament. Whenever a duellist reached 15000  
points, they were allowed to descend to the next level through inserting  
their duel disk into a scanner which was placed next to an elevator   
descending down to the next level. What was down there nobody knew, as only  
two others have gone down so far.  
There were some duellists who used the God cards. This little triviality  
didn't affect Hayku or his ability to duel in the slightest, for he was   
perfectly capable of taking on a God card, whichever one came his way-  
mainly because he had one of his own and knew how to use it.  
The metallic corridors echoed with his footsteps as he marched down towards  
the elevator. His score had topped at a grand total of 15650 points, well  
over the mark which he needed to gain access to the next level.  
As he reached the scanner, which was basically a hole in the wall with a  
niche for the duel disk to be slotted in. Hayku undid the clasp fastening  
the disk to his forearm, and slotted the device into the niche. There was a  
moment of silence, then an electronic beep registered affirmative, and an   
electronic voice rang out.  
"You have successfully gained a score of fifteen thousand, six hundred and  
fifty points. Congratulations, duellist, the next level awaits you."  
The doors to the elevator opened. Hayku retrieved the duel disk, took his  
time fastening it to his forearm comfortably once again, and entered the   
elevator. the doors closed behind him, and he felt his stomach lurch as the  
conveyance descended at high speeds, accompanied by a rising hum.  
The interior of the elevator was totally featureless save the fluorescent  
lights in the ceiling, and the door at one end. There were no buttons, and  
not even railings adorned the walls, as they often did.  
The pitch of the hum slowly descended, and the elevator slowed. Finally, the  
doors slid open once again, revealing another metallic corridor just like  
the one he had left.  
As he stepped out, the door slid shut behind him, and he heard the elevator  
rise again.  
Walking through the corridor, which only had a door at the other end, a  
voice rang out over the speakers set into the ceiling.  
"Welcome, duellist, to the second level of this tournament. This will test  
your skills as a duellist against a range of decks and themes. There will be  
five duellists waiting for you, one after the other. As you proceed through  
this challenge, your life points will be restored between each match, but  
should they drop to zero at any time, you are eliminated. Good luck, your  
first challenge awaits you."  
The door at the end of the corridor slid open smoothly as Hayku neared it.  
He guessed it must have been an automatic door, but he didn't see any  
sensors.  
The chamber beyond was eerily dark, lit only by the bare necessity of  
lighting thanks to one, lonely, ancient-looking lightbulb above his head.  
The walls were of natural rock, and dripped with water as if it was sweating  
in the cold dampness.  
A spotlight suddenly lit up, highlighting a figure at the other end of the  
chamber.  
"My name is Mort, and I will be the first duellist you will be facing."  
He was a skinny man, almost anorexic, but he moved with a grace that belied  
his thin frame. Strapped to his left arm was a duel disk. Hayku regarded him  
with cool eyes.  
"Very well, shall we begin, then?" Mort said as he grinned unpleasantly. He  
raised his arm, and the two parts of the duel disk snapped together. His  
voice was dry, almost rasping at the sandpaper-like material that must have   
constituted his throat. As he stepped forward, the spotlight died, once  
again bathing the chamber in darkness, save for the glow emanating from  
Mort's duel disk, and the paltry light from the single bulb.  
Hayku didn't say a word, merely mirrored his opponent's actions as his duel  
disk activated.

Mort 8000  
Hayku 8000

"Since you are the challenger, I will of course let you go first."  
"You will regret that," Hayku deadpanned, he was unfazed by the strange   
settings, nor was he unsettled by his opponent's strange appearance as he  
was lit by the glow from his duel disk, and his voice- which constantly made  
Hayku want to clear his throat.  
"Oh, I very much doubt that," Mort rasped as he chuckled, a dry hiss at the  
back of his throat.  
Hayku drew his first card, and pondered his first move.  
"I will set one monster face down, and set two magic/trap cards face down. I  
end my turn."  
"Oh dear, playing careful now are we?" Mort grinned toothily as he drew a  
card off the top of his deck. "I too will set one monster face down, and two  
magic/trap cards. Your turn."  
"At the end of your turn, I activate face down trap card Dust Tornado,   
wiping out one of your traps."  
Mort laughed again, "very well, my Compulsory Evacuation Device is destroyed  
before it can be put to good use."  
In a storm of feathers and gale force winds, Mort's face down card was  
shattered, and sent to the graveyard.  
"My turn again, I flip my face down monster face up, activating my Night  
Assailant's (200/500) special effect, destroy your face down monster!"  
A figure wrapped in ragged robes leapt from the card, wielding a twisted  
blade, its arms glowing with unnatural light. Its weapon descended upon  
Mort's face down monster, and destroying it instantly. There was a momentary   
image of a magician, before the card was sent to the graveyard.  
'An Old Vindictive Magician, lucky he didn't get a chance to activate that.'  
Out loud, Hayku slapped another card down onto his duel disk. "Now I summon  
my Giant Orc (2200/0) in Attack mode!"  
a hulking, ogre like figure appeared on the field, brandishing a giant femur  
as a club, it growled at Mort, saliva dripping from its jaw. He didn't even  
flinch.  
"Giant Orc! Attack his life points directly!"  
"Not so fast, boy! Activate face down trap card Compulsory Evacuation  
Device! Say goodbye to your Orc!"  
In the middle of leaping at Mort, the Orc was abruptly encased in a  
dome-like machine. There was a brief count down, and the Orc was launched  
into the darkness above them with a despairing howl. The monster card  
returned to Hayku's hand, 'so he had another one down...'  
"Night Assailant, attack his life points!"  
The assassin leapt forward again, this time slashing his blade down at Mort  
himself. Mort shook his head as he smirked.  
"There goes my life points."

Mort 7800  
Hayku 8000

'I still have one face down trap, that should protect me for now if he   
attacks.'  
"I end my turn."  
"Very well," Mort said as he drew a card. "I activate the magic card Soul  
Exchange to sacrifice your Night Assailant for my Vampire Lord (2000/1500)!"  
An opulently-dressed figure appeared on the field, flinging open his black  
cloak with a flourish of his arm. He grinned at Hayku, and he noticed that  
its fangs were unnaturally long.  
"Unfortunately, I cannot perform my battle phase in the same turn, so I end  
my turn."  
Hayku frowned almost imperceptibly, 'what's he trying to do? He knows my  
Giant Orc will annihilate his Vampire Lord. And he hasn't even set a  
magic/trap card...'  
"I summon my Giant Orc (2200/0) in attack mode, and annihilate your Vampire   
Lord!"  
This time the Orc managed to complete its attack, bringing its bone club  
down to smash against the Vampire Lord's skull, caving it in. The vampire  
was sent to the graveyard.  
"My Giant Orc switches to defence mode after its attack, and I end my turn."  
"All right! My turn again! I summon my Zombyra the Dark (2100/500) in attack  
mode, and I activate the magic card Book of Life!"  
A cloaked warrior resplendent in skull-adorned armour appeared on the field,  
legs set apart in an aggressive stance. There was a flash of light, and a  
green tome appeared beside it, accompanied by the sound of unintelligible  
chanting the background.  
"I remove your Night Assailant from your graveyard out of play and special  
summon back my Vampire Lord! Zombyra, attack and destroy his Giant Orc!"  
"Not so fast! I activate face down trap card Magic Cylinder, and reflect  
Zombyra's attack back to your life points!"  
As Zombyra flew towards the crouching Giant Orc, a cylinder abruptly  
appeared in front of him, sucking it in. As soon as it disappeared, another  
cylinder appeared beside the first, and tipped over as if to pour something.   
Zombyra came screaming out of the cylinder as if launched from a cannon,  
hitting Mort full on. The man stagger a few steps, but was otherwise unfazed  
as his monster returned to the field.

Mort 5700  
Hayku 8000

"You call this a challenge? I've nearly taken down half your life points,  
and you haven't even hurt me yet," Hayku stated.  
Mort smiled, "you've seen nothing yet, boy. Vampire Lord, destroy Giant  
Orc!"  
The vampire leapt forward, claws unsheathing themselves from his fingers and  
fangs from his gums. The Orc stood no chance as it was abruptly ripped apart  
in a display of intense violence.  
This was nothing more than a sham. Some challenge this was. He smirked as he  
drew his next card. "I sacrifice both your monsters for my Lava Golem  
(3000/2500)!"  
Flames erupted froth from the ground, engulfing both of Mort's monsters. A   
giant shape consisting completely of red hot lava rose out of the ground. A  
cage snapped shut around Mort, and he was raised up into the midst of  
several clawing skeletons, all of which were trapped in the giant humanoid  
shape. The heat haze looked so real Hayku swore he could almost feel the  
intense heat, he began to sweat.  
"I set a magic/trap card face down, and end my turn."  
As Mort drew his card, one of the clawing arms gouged his arm, inflicting  
further damage to his life points.

Mort 4700  
Hayku 8000

"Enjoying hot, flaming death yet?"  
Mort smirked, "it wouldn't be recommended. I now sacrifice your Lava Golem  
for my Ryu Kokki (2400/2000), getting rid of it for good!"  
A monster made completely of skulls burst through the middle of the Lava   
Golem, sending burning bits of lava all over the place. The skeletons  
shattered, and the cage was pulled asunder as the Lava Golem died.  
"Ryu Kokki! Attack his life points directly!"  
"I don't think so! Activate quickplay magic card Scapegoat to special summon  
four Sheep Tokens (0/0)!"  
In a flash of light, four balls of fluff appeared in the air in front of  
Hayku. Each sheep token was a different colour, and looked complacent as  
they floated about. The Ryu Kokki rampaged forward, and smashed one of the   
sheep apart in a shower of blood and gore.  
Hayku drew another card, and laughed, "looks like my deck is offering you no  
mercy, Mort! I switch one of my Sheep Tokens into attack mode, and I play   
the magic card Creature Swap!"  
Two arrows in a circular formation appeared on the ground, and one of the  
Sheep tokens were transferred to Mort's side while the massive Ryu Kokki   
changed to Hayku's side.  
"Guess what, boy? I activate my third and final Compulsory Evacuation  
Device! And my Ryu Kokki returns to my hand!"  
Again, the dome-like machine appeared, encasing Ryu Kokki. The brief count  
down was followed by a massive blast as Ryu Kokki was launched into the air,  
the monster card returned to Mort's hand.  
Hayku growled, that had been a total waste of a good magic card! "Have it  
your way! I switch another of my Sheep Tokens into attack mode, and attack  
your Sheep Token!"  
One of the sheep floated gently forward, and came into contact with the one  
on Mort's side of the field. The moment they touched, both disappeared in a  
gentle pop.  
"I set a magic/trap card and end my turn."  
There was a pause as Hayku examined his hand after drawing another card. "I  
set a monster in face down defence mode, and end my turn."  
Hayku drew again, and growled as he saw which card he drew, 'this is useless   
to me right now!'  
"Very well," he said, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. "I set  
another magic/trap card and end my turn."  
Mort smiled as he drew, "I set another monster face down, and end my turn."  
'What the hell's he trying to do?' Hayku thought as he drew his next card.  
"I summon Archfiend Soldier (1900/1600) in attack mode! Attack his face down  
monster!"  
The spiky demon warrior growled, leapt forward, and slashed his sword  
overhand at the face down card. There was a brief struggle, and the image of  
a giant turtle with a pyramid on its back appeared, and shattered. However,  
the pyramid was left behind.  
"Fool! You've just destroyed my Pyramid Turtle (1200/1400)! Now I get to  
special summon one zombie from my deck with a defence of 2000 or less! I  
special summon my second Ryu Kokki (2400/2000)!"  
The pyramid stood still for a moment, and abruptly crumbled to dust as  
another bone construct emerged from its ruins.  
A blast of blue energy screamed down from above, and slammed onto the  
playing field. All the monsters were annihilated in the storm of energy, and  
when everything cleared, not a single one was left alive.  
Mort raised an eyebrow, "what was that?"  
"That was my trap card Torrential Tribute, which destroys all monsters  
whenever someone summons one onto the field," Hayku said grimly. "I end my   
turn."  
"So be it." Mort was smiling as he drew another card. "I summon Spirit  
Reaper (300/200) in attack mode! Attack your life points directly!"  
The robed figure hissed, and flew at Hayku, its giant scythe raised. It  
swept the weapon down in one massive stroke, destroying a card in Hayku's  
hand as well as dealing damage to his life points.

Mort 4700  
Hayku 7700

"No! My Snatch Steal!" Hayku was shocked, he had never expected this, Snatch  
Steal had been one of his better cards. Firming his resolve, he felt  
suddenly determined not to let this small setback allow him to lose the  
duel.  
Hayku drew, and growled in satisfaction as he saw what was in his hand.  
"First, I will set one monster face down, and now I remove three Fiend  
monsters from my graveyard out of play to summon my Dark Necrofear   
(2200/2800)!"  
The robotic, puppet-like monster appeared on the field, shrouded in an aura  
of darkness as it cradled a broken doll in its arms.  
"Dark Necrofear! Attack and destroy his Spirit Reaper! Dark Terror Force!"  
The aura around Dark Necrofear abruptly expanded, and sent slivers of icy  
cold despair into Hayku's mind. He bore this though, as he knew Mort's  
Spirit Reaper and his life points would be experiencing far worse.  
As the darkness faded, Hayku was surprised to see the Spirit Reaper still   
standing, "what! Why is your Spirit Reaper still alive!"  
A rasping, hissing sound filled the air as Mort laughed, "there's a reason  
it's called 'Spirit' Reaper, boy. You might have hurt my life points, but  
you haven't touched my Spirit Reaper."

Mort 2800  
Hayku 7700

'I can't believe it, he's nearly lost, and he's not even affected by it.'  
Hayku thought as he gave over the turn to his opponent.  
"I'll first switch my Spirit Reaper into defence mode, and I play Nobleman  
of Crossout on your face down card!"  
A knight appeared on the field, slashing his sword down at Hayku's face down  
card. A worn, wooden mask appeared briefly in the air before it was sent out  
of play. 'I was counting on my Mask of Darkness to bring my Torrential  
Tribute back too...' Hayku thought.  
"I end my turn."  
Hayku drew another card. Useless. "I end my turn," he slumped.  
Mort raised an amused eyebrow, "my, my, aren't we demoralised." He drew.  
"First, I'll equip the magic card Ekibyo Drakmord on your Dark Necrofear."  
Dark Necrofear suddenly began shaking uncontrollably, and its body began to  
corrode before Hayku's eyes.  
"Don't worry, you only have two more turns until your Dark Necrofear is no  
more than dead matter."  
"You think so? I activate face down quickplay magic card, Mystical Space  
Typhoon, and destroy your virus."  
In a storm of cleansing wind, the affliction was wiped out, and the magic  
card sent to the graveyard.  
"I end my turn."  
Hayku put a hand on his deck, and prayed silently, he had to get rid of that  
Spirit Reaper if he wanted to win. 'Come on, deck.'  
With a flourish, he drew his next card. Lady Luck was not with him, he   
realised.  
"I summon another Archfiend Soldier in attack mode, and end my turn."  
"Enjoying my Spirit Reaper? You should be," Hayku grinned as he drew another  
card from his deck. "Ah yes, finally, the card I was waiting for. I  
sacrifice my Spirit Reaper to summon my Dark Dust Spirit (2200/1800)! And  
using its special effect, I destroy all other face up monsters on the   
field."  
Hayku watched in despair as a sandstorm whipped up, shredding both his  
monsters and sending them to the graveyard.  
"Dark Dust Spirit, attack his life points directly!"  
The crimson, spike-studded spirit raised both its arms, fingers splayed. A  
blast of sand so intense it could have stripped paint off a car hit Hayku  
head on. He coughed, and choked on the substance, feeling each little grain  
bite into his skin like sandpaper. As quickly as it had started, the storm  
died down.

Mort 2800  
Hayku 5500

Hayku was breathing hard, spitting sand out of his mouth and trying to shake  
off the aftereffects of the attack. he shouldn't have let that one through.  
'Oh well, at least my Dark Necrofear can return from the graveyard and  
control his monster...'  
As if reading his thoughts, Mort laughed in his dry, rasping hiss. "Because   
my Dark Dust Spirit is a Spirit monster, it returns to my hand at the end of  
the turn, denying your Dark Necrofear his special ability!" The Dark Dust  
Spirit's image wavered, and faded as the monster card returned to Mort's  
hand.  
"And just before I end my turn, I set one magic/trap card."  
Hayku was still trying to get sand out of his mouth as he drew his next  
card. He was desperate now, and Mort probably knew it. "I play Swords of   
Revealing Light, and end my turn."  
Three blazing swords slammed down into the ground around Mort, lighting up  
his skull-like features, still grinning.  
"I end my turn," Hayku tried to keep the weariness out of his voice, with  
little success. This duel was taking more out of him than he thought, and he   
wondered what his opponent was going to do next.  
"I draw, set one monster card face down, and end my turn," Mort's move was   
simple, yet it sent a shiver of paranoia down Hayku's back. What was the  
monster he had just set?  
This place was getting to him. He had never duelled in almost total darkness  
before, and he could feel it working away at his mind. At least the Swords   
helped to dispel some of his fears.  
"I draw... and end my turn."  
Mort laughed as one of the swords shimmered, and disappeared. There were two  
more left now. "Not doing so well now, are we?" His grin turned really  
unpleasant as he drew.  
"Here's a taste of your own medicine, boy! I play Mystical Space Typhoon,  
blowing your Swords away!"  
When the winds had died down, the swords had disappeared, leaving Mort free   
to attack Hayku's life points directly.  
"I now sacrifice my face down monster for another Ryu Kokki (2400/2000)!  
Attack his life points directly!"  
Hayku couldn't do a thing as the lumbering monstrosity threw out an arm made  
of skulls, lengthening it and smashing into his chest. Hayku screamed in  
pain, and fell flat on his back.

Mort 2800  
Hayku 3100

He staggered to his feet. In a matter of turns, his opponent had reduced his  
life points down to almost a third of its starting value. The pain in his  
chest told him there was going to be a nasty bruise there later.  
He barely managed to draw his next card.  
"I set one magic/trap card face down, and one monster face down. I end my   
turn." He had to build up his defences, and he knew these two cards were as  
good as any.  
"Hmm... not much of a choice here for me, yes? Ryu Kokki! Attack his face  
down monster!"  
Again, the arm stretched over the distance, and slammed into Hayku's face   
down monster, sending it to the graveyard. However, something was wrong.  
"I activate my Newdoria's (1200/800) special effect! Drag his Ryu Kokki down  
to the grave with you!"  
Two arms seized Ryu Kokki around its body, and dragged it roaring down to  
the graveyard.  
"How did you like that, Mort?" Hayku sneered.  
Mort merely smiled, "I commend your move, boy. However, I anticipated that  
you would do such a thing. I now set one monster face down, and end my  
turn."  
'Bastard, I'll show you just what my deck can do...'  
"I summon a Giant Orc (2200/0) in attack mode! Attack and destroy his face  
down monster!"  
The Orc roared, and smashed its club down onto the face down monster. The  
Pyramid Turtle's head was completely pulverised as it died, leaving behind   
only the pyramid on its back.  
"Not a smart move, boy! I now special summon my third and last Ryu Kokki  
(2400/2000) onto the field!"  
The pyramid burst into flames, lighting up the area briefly before crumbling  
to ashes. And from the pile of ashes rose a Ryu Kokki, the red orb set into  
its chest glowing with unnatural light.  
"My Giant Orc switches into defence mode after its attack, and I end my  
turn."  
"Ah, yes, finally. Ready to die yet, boy?"  
Hayku braced himself, he had to be ready for anything now.  
"First I will pay 800 life points to play Premature Burial and special  
summon my Vampire Lord back from the grave! Rise once again, my creature!"  
As the vampire again rose from the grave, Mort's life points dropped.

Mort 2000  
Hayku 3100

"I now remove my Vampire Lord from play to special summon my Vampire Genesis  
(3000/2100)!"  
The vampire writhed as a terrible transformation came upon it. In a burst of  
bloody flesh and expensive cloth, a new, more terrifying monster rose. Its  
indigo body was backed by a pair of massive wings as it gnashed its teeth,   
and laughed coldly.  
"Now, I use my Vampire Genesis' special effect to discard my Despair from  
the Dark (2800/3000) to special summon back another Ryu Kokki (2400/2000)!  
Ryu Kokki! Attack and destroy his Giant Orc!"  
The Orc's body was completely pulverised as it was sent to the graveyard.  
"Now my creatures! Attack his life points directly!" there was a note of   
insane glee in Mort's voice as he declared his attack.  
"Not so fast! I activate my face down quickplay magic card Scapegoat!"  
"Another one, eh? Well let's see how they stand up to the power of my  
monsters! ATTACK!" Mort's eyes were wide with feral insanity as his  
monsters leapt to do his bidding, pulverising two of the balls of fluff that  
now floated in front of Hayku.  
He didn't know what to do now, there were three insanely strong monsters in  
front of him, and all he had to defend himself with were two balls of fluff.  
As he drew his next card, however, hope again flared within his mind. 'I  
just need to hold out for one more turn now...'  
He didn't let this show however, as he played another card. "I play Pot of  
Greed, and draw two more cards... then I set one more magic/trap card, and  
end my turn."  
Mort's expression had transformed from the calm, almost mocking one to the  
face of a madman. His lips were drawn back, and his eyes were so wide that  
for a moment he looked like a skull in the dim light of his duel disk,  
highlighting his face from below.  
"Ryu Kokki! Vampire Genesis! Attack his monsters and his life points!"  
Two more sheep were mercilessly crushed, reduced to nothing more than balls  
of bloodstained fur and gore. The stench of dead bodies was starting to  
permeate in the air, and Hayku wrinkled his nose at the smell.  
"I activate my third and last Scapegoat!" he yelled as Mort's Vampire  
Genesis reached towards him. Hayku felt pity for the poor sheep token that   
was smashed against the chamber's wall, sliding down to land in a bloody  
heap as it died.  
Mort cackled, "not long now, boy. Soon, I will have your soul!"  
Hayku kept his fear in check. There was something seriously wrong with this  
now, but his victory was in his grasp and all he needed was one last card...  
As he tentatively looked at the card he drew, his weary expression turned to  
one of triumph. "Prepare to lose the game, Mort! First I will play the magic  
card Premature Burial, special summoning back my Giant Orc (2200/0)."

Mort 2000  
Hayku 2300

"Now I summon another Giant Orc (2200/0) in attack mode!" he slapped the   
card down on his duel disk, and watched as another hulking Orc appeared on  
the field.  
Mort hadn't caught on with what he was doing, his expression hadn't changed.  
"None of your monsters are strong enough to destroy any of mine! Are you   
suicidal! Not that I mind..." He burst into a fit of insane laughter.  
Hayku gritted his teeth as he made his next move. "Laugh this up, you freak.  
I now sacrifice my three remaining Sheep Tokens to special summon my Obelisk  
the Tormentor!" he cried triumphantly.  
Three sheep tokens were sacrificed as Hayku called upon his God. A wind  
whipped up, carrying with it flames that burnt and twisted everything it  
came into contact with it. A sense of deeply-rooted horror rose up,  
suppressing all other emotions as the God descended. His blue form was  
adorned with massive spikes, and two gigantic wings whipped the air into a  
frenzy as He landed, shaking the earth to its core. The gem on His forehead   
glowed a bright blue as it laughed a deep, cruel laugh. All the monsters on  
the field visibly cringed away from the massive monster.  
Mort's face didn't change, though Hayku could tell he was terrified. "I  
activate my face down trap card Waboku, denying you the chance to attack  
this turn! If you think I die so easily, think again! You have three  
monsters to take care of, and next turn I will win this!"  
Three robed priestesses materialised in the air in front of Mort's monsters,  
forming a holy barrier through which nothing could penetrate, even a God.  
Hayku laughed now, venting all his frustration and despair in a single,   
drawn out, mocking laugh. Obelisk laughed along with him, His deep, cold  
voice making the sound all the much more terrifying. The sense of terror and  
dread deepened, but Hayku's faith in Obelisk shielded him from most of the  
adverse effects generated by the presence of his God.  
He snarled as his laugh died down. "Who said I needed to attack you to  
destroy you utterely? Prepare yourself for your doom! I sacrifice both my  
Giant Orcs to annihilate all of your monsters, and deal 4000 damage to your   
life points! Obelisk! I sacrifice to you two of my worthiest monsters! SMITE  
YOUR ENEMIES, AND REND THEIR SOULS FROM THEIR BODIES!"  
Both Orcs writhed as their souls were fed to the God. Obelisk opened His  
jaws, and roared his rage at the skies. His entire body began to glow blue,  
illuminating the entire chamber, and throwing back every shadow that dared  
to cringe in the recesses of the room. In an awesome display of power,  
Obelisk released His energy in one massive burst that sent shockwaves   
through the foundations of the building. Hayku watched as the enormous burst  
of energy completely vaporised all of his opponent's monsters, screaming  
towards a horrified Mort. His mouth was wide open, and both his arms raised  
as if to shield himself from the divine energy.  
The shockwave hit him, sweeping him off his feet and slamming him back  
against the rocky wall of the chamber. The thunder of its impact was so loud  
Hayku thought he was going to go deaf for a second. The paltry light bulb  
overhead and the numerous spotlights that had remained unused in the  
darkness above shattered, sending shards of broken glass and twisted metal   
raining down upon both duellists. Obelisk's bulk suddenly moved, and  
shielded a surprised Hayku from the deadly downpour.

Mort 0  
Hayku 2300

As everything calmed, Hayku stood up again. The concrete floor was littered  
with glass and twisted bits of metal. In some places the smooth concrete had  
been shattered, as if something massive had stepped on them, and crushed  
them under its immense weight.  
Hayku was panting, every breath came with difficulty, his heart pounding at   
the rate of several hundred beats per hour.  
After surveying the scene, he realised bits of metal and glass weren't the  
only things in this chamber.  
What he saw made him gape.  
Bits of shattered bone, the remnants of a skull here, and half of a giant   
femur there, were scattered amongst the glass and metal. There were also  
piles of burnt flesh, broken and ripped open as if they had been opened with  
a can opener and then roasted over an open fire. The air was full of the  
stench of death, and burnt meat.  
On one corner, slumped against a wall, was the broken form of Mort. Hayku  
picked his way gingerly amongst the debris, avoiding the piles of broken  
flesh and trying not to gag at the sight of them. He felt blood run down his  
arm where a few stray pieces of flying debris had caught him unawares.  
Mort was laid against the wall, his expression contorted in one of sheer  
terror. His duel disk lay in pieces, and only the main part remained  
strapped to his forearm. Likewise, his deck was scattered around his body,  
some cards were so mutilated they were no longer recognisable as cards.   
Mort's body was twisted, one of his arms bent at an angle it was never  
designed to be bent at.  
But he was still breathing, a ragged, shallow sound from his blood mouth.  
Which was when Hayku realised something else.  
He could see in the dark.  
The lights had been shattered, and yet his eyesight was as unaffected as if  
the entire room was lit by fluorescent lights. He knew it was dark, but his  
eyes weren't agreeing with him.  
Another part of him suddenly took over; the part which felt indifferent  
towards the gory piles of smoking flesh; the part which actually relished in  
the destruction he had caused. This was the darker part of him that knew   
just how to activate Obelisk's special ability, and had no qualms about  
using it even though it inevitably led to the death of his opponent- or  
rather the destruction of his soul.  
His mind had no say in this now, only his darkness had control of his body-  
the rest of him had been shoved into the back seat.  
He smirked, for a moment revealing teeth too sharp to be from a human mouth.  
"Death shall run rampant through this world, and chaos shall rule all," he  
intoned, giving Mort's body one last contemptuous look before giving it a  
kick, and then exiting through the door which now opened near where his  
opponent had stood.  
There was far more to this tournament than anyone could bargain for, and his  
darkness had learnt this during the duel, though his real self was far too  
shocked at the consequences to try and face it. The smirk on Hayku's face  
did not diminish as he walked through the brightly lit corridor onto his  
next challenge.


	2. Chapter 2

Author Name: Shawn Sousa

Title: Darkness vs. Darkness, Part 2

Rating: Again, probably 15 or over

Warnings: Holographic death images

Genre: Action

Summary: After defeating (and killing) the first duelist in the series of 5 in level two of the tournament, Mort, Hayku goes on into the next room, and prepares his deck to face duelist #2. But will the awesome power of Obelisk the Tormentor be unleashed again?

NOTE: this does NOT actually include any of the characters within the anime/manga series, this is merely based around the card game, and some of the concepts in the anime.

DARNKESS VS. DARKNESS, PART 2

Hayku had just walked into a brightly lit corridor. "Its time for a deck switch," he says, oblivious to the fact that he had just killed some one, "I'm guessing that there's someone watching this whole thing, and he might have told my opponent about my deck." He takes his deck out of the Kaiba Corp. issued Duel Disk. "Sorry Obelisk, you're going to have to sit this next one out." He sits down in the middle of the hallway, pondering which deck to use. Finally, he knows. He takes out deck box from his pocket, removes its contents, and reviews his deck. "Perfect," he mutters, "The perfect deck to stand up against what's up next," He stands up, and continues to walk. As he walks to the end of the corridor, to a door which holds Lord-knows-what, he inserts the deck into the deck slot for the Duel Disk. "Whatever it is." On the other side of the door, Crump stood waiting, deck in hand, listening to his master speak to him. "I sense that he has changed his deck. Quick, use the Gravekeeper's Deck. Hand me the Anti-Fiend-Chaos-Beatdown one. I'll save it for another duelist." "Yes, Master," Crump says. "As you wish."On the other side of the door again, Hayku lay waiting. 'Should I go on?' He thought. **_'Yes'_** said a voice in his head. It sounded vaguely like the voice of Obelisk the Tormentor. "If you say so," Hayku responded to the voice that only he heard, and he steps to the door, which again opens by itself. "Welcome," Hayku heard as soon as his feet entered the room. "Are you ready to meet your doom? I've heard that the Shadow Realm isn't that good of a place. You should tell me how it's like once I banish you there! HA ha ha ha ha ha!" Hayku saw that the voice came from a middle-aged man, with a few white hairs. He was wearing a business suit with the Kaiba Corp. insignia in the upper-right hand corner of his suit jacket. His Duel Disk was one of a model that Hayku had never seen before. It looked as if the man had 5 short spikes going along his left arm. His deck was located on the bottom of his wrist in a compartment and his graveyard zone, empty, lay above his wrist. "My name is Crump. I am duelist number 2. Let's get this over with, because I have better things to do. Once you're out of my sight, I can fix my deck. Don't worry, this won't take long. Let's duel." As he said this, with a high-pitched, slightly demonic-sounding voice, the duel disk on his arm activated. The spikes shot out of his arm, just wide enough to place his cards in. The deck zone switched positions with the graveyard zone, and Hayku could now see a 4-digit life point calculation zone. Hayku, with his highly calculative mind, automatically saw a flaw in the model: the duel disk could only calculate life points up to only 9999 points. He would have to remember that if he ever saw this type of duel disk again. An opponent life-point increase deck, just for the fun with it. What a novel idea! Taking all this in took only a second for Hayku, for a moment after Crump activated his duel disk, Hayku activated his own. The two parts came together, and he heard the humming of the internal hologram system. "Let's get our game on!" sorry, total GX rip-offHayku responded. "I can see that you won your last match, so, for that, I'll go first. I draw." Crump said. A card shot out of his deck.

Crump 8000

Hayku 8000

"Aha. This is great. Just the combo I need. I set one card, and I play the field spell card Necrovalley. I'm sorry if you're afraid of the dark, for that is where you're going to be now!" Hayku felt the room grow colder, and he saw it get darker. "It appears that this game will continue in a graveyard, the home of the Gravekeepers! Now I play Gravekeeper's Assailant, in attack mode!" A dark robed monster appeared before Crump. He was wielding a long, curved dagger, and he was ready to attack. "I end my turn." "Great," Hayku responded, "Now I can really get this duel started. I draw!" Unlike Crump's Duel Disk, he had to manually draw his cards. "Awesome! First, I'll summon Elemental Hero Sparkman onto the field in attack mode." An electrifying figure now stood before Hayku. One feature that both Duel Disks had in common was holographic monster summoning abilities. "Then I play the Enemy Controller spell card!" Hayku continued. Now, a video game remote popped up. The cord fired into Gravekeeper's Assailant's head. Then, Sparkman jumped up, and took hold of the controller. As he does this, he gets a shock and gets sacrificed. However, the Assailant was now on Hayku's side of the field! "Thanks Sparkman. I'll make it up to you. Now for the fun part. Gravekeeper's Assailant, attack his Life Point directly!" The Assailant rushed forward, with his dagger in front of his, and cut right through Crump.

Crump 6000

Hayku 8000

"Now I through down a face down and end my turn. You're move!" "Very well, I draw." Again, another card leapt into Crump's hand. "And now the Assailant returns to my side of the field." I know how the card works; just get on with the duel!" "Okay. I'll play another Gravekeeper's Assailant onto the field in attack mode!" "Not so fast! I activate my Torrential Tribute" "Well I chain! Solemn Judgment" A wall of water had appeared on the field, but then an old man had put his hand in the way to stop it. "I may lose half of my Life Points, but I get to destroy you're card."

Crump 3000

Hayku 8000

"And now, say goodbye to your Life Points!" Both cards went up to attack Hayku at the same time. He flies back, I pain. "Ahhhh"

Crump 3000

Hayku 4000

"And I end my turn, your move." "Finally! Yes!" Hayku yelled after drawing his card. "Just what I need! First, I'll play the spell card Dark Hole" From the darkness, a black hole appeared. It sucked up the twin monsters and they disappeared with the hole. "Then I summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix!" A flame woman appeared before Hayku. "Now Burstinatrix, attack his Life Points directly. Burstfire!" She created a fire ball in her hands, and runs toward Crump. As she got close, she threw the fire ball at him. Hayku thought that he could smell some thing burning, but it must have been something with his duel disk. It happened every time he used Burstinatrix. Whatever.

Crump 1800

Hayku 4000

"This duel is almost done! Because of that, I end my turn." "Thank you. Now I draw." He pondered a moment with his cards and then said, "This is great. First, I'll play Smashing Ground." A giant hand assaulted his monster and sent it to the graveyard. "And now, I'll play Gravekeepers Spear Soldier!" Another black robed monster appeared before Crump. This one, instead of having a large dagger, was wielding a long spear. "Attack!" The Soldier threw his spear at Hayku, and he thought that he really felt the pain.

Crump 1800

Hayku 2000

"I end my turn." "Okay, I have only a couple more chances. C'mon deck!" He drew another card. After looking at what it was, he yelled out with glee. "Yes! PERFECT! Now, I play the field spell card Skyscraper. Not only does it help my monsters, but it replaces your Necrovalley!" When he threw down the card onto his Duel Disk, a cityscape appeared around them. "And now, I summon my Elemental Hero Clayman onto the field in attack mode." A giant clay figure now occupied the field. "Attack, because with the help of Skyscraper, my monster gains 1000 attack points! Let's go Heroes!" The humanoid clay figure punched the spear-wielding foe into pieces.

Crump 1500

Hayku 2000

"Your turn to go." "And I will accept it gladly, "responded Crump. "Yet again, I will draw. Yes! And now, for a taste of your own medicine! Dar Hole!" Again, a black hole appeared over the field, only this time, Hayku's Clayman was the one who was to be sucked in. "No!" Hayku exclaimed "Yes! And now I play Mystic Tomato!" A tomato with an evil grin pasted on its mouth appeared on the field. "Attack!" The tomato jumped at Hayku, and took a bite out of him.

Crump 1500

Hayku 600

"Oh no, I'm almost done!" "Yes you are. But alas, you have one more turn." "Yes I know. Let's make this one count." He prayed before drawing what very well might be his last card. "YYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" He began jumping up and down with glee. "I PLAY URIA, LORD OF SEARING FLAMES!" "No! you can't have that!" "WELL I DO SO DEAL WITH IT! NOW I ACTIVATE HIS SPECIAL ABILITY, DEATH FLAME! FOR EACH NUMBER OF MONSTERS IN OUR HANDS AND ON THE FIELD, YOU LOSE 1000 LIFE POINTS AND BECAUSE I HAVE A MONSTER IN MY HAND, AND YOU HAVE A MONSTER ON THE FIELD, THAT'S 2000 POINTS! GO URIA! FLAMES OF HELL!" Uria, who looks like the evil version of Slifer the Sky Dragon, ate the monsters, and regurgitated them as a huge ball of blue, white, orange, and blackish-red flames. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" The ball of flame hit Crump, and it sent a shockwave throughout the room. It blackened the room, and Hayku swore that he could see the Skyscrapers falling around him. Then it ended. Hayku heard a _bing_ noise. When he looked up, all was gone, but the charred remains of his foe.

Crump 0000

Hayku 600

And then he heard a laugh. It came from inside of his body. It was an evil, dark laugh. A laugh that celebrated all the damage that one card had caused. He turned around from the rubble, and walked through the newly opened door, and into a hallway, at the end of which was a door which housed challenge number 3…


	3. Chapter 3

Author Name: Shawn Sousa

Title: Darkness vs. Darkness, Part 3

Warnings: I think that we are mature enough for imaginary hologram Yu-Gi-Oh death scenes. Aren't we?

Genre: Yu-Gi-Oh! I-I mean…um…Action! Yeah that's it!

Summary: After killing two of his opponents in a row, Hayku gears up for duel number 3. But will another death occur? Or will the 3rd duelist be too much for Hayku?

NOTE: this does NOT actually include any of the characters within the anime/manga series, this is merely based around the greatness of the card game, and some of the awesome concepts in the anime.

Darkness vs. Darkness, Part 3

Hayku had just left the rubble that his Uria, Lord of Searing Flames had caused. Again, he is oblivious. To him, damage is nothing. But in the corner of his mind, a memory appeared. It was a memory that he thought he would never witness again…..

_  
A young, thirty year-old Hayku was skipping home from another wonderful day at college. He unlocks the door, and steps in._

"_Mom, I'm home! Mom?" Hayku said that last line with a worried tone, for he now saw that the phone line had been cut. He enters his mother's room and saw her dead body, limp, with gunshot wounds to the head, chest, and neck. "MMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!"_

Back in the present, Hayku shook the image out of his head. "I wonder how his family will feel after they discover that he's dead. Did he even have a family? Or was he alone?" Whatever. It was time for another deck switch. "Hmmmmmmm. I wonder which deck I should use. Oh I know! Let's burn the competition, Thestalos! Shit. I probably shouldn't have said that out loud. Now they will make a deck to counter mine. No matter, I'll still beat whatever lousy competitor is up next!" Hayku, in his long, pitch black trench coat, swept his long legs toward the other end of the hallway, putting his new choice of deck in his Duel Disk. As he neared the door, it opened automatically again, as if it was waiting for him. He steps through the door way, into the room, ready to face his next challenge. "Get in here!" Hayku heard an annoying, croaking, impatient voice say. "I, Nezbitt, formally of the Big 5 and Kaiba Corp., do not have all day, you know. I want this to end already, so I can go back to talking with my girlfriend, dammit!" "Fine," Hayku yelled. "Let's get our game on!" At that, they both activated their Duel Disks. Nezbitt, unlike Crump, had a normal Duel Disk. At the same time, the two parts came together, and then the 1 part went to the left side and locked in place. "I'm the third duelist you're to face. To see who will go first, let's roll," Nezbitt said as he reached into his pocket, and took out a dice. "I call odds!" he yelled as he threw the dice into the air. As it landed, it began spinning on its edge. It spun for what seemed like forever for Hayku, until he finally saw it slowing down. Eventually, it came to a stop. "Ha!" Hayku yelled after he saw what number had been rolled. "A four! That means I go first! I draw!"

Nezbitt 8000

Hayku 8000

Hayku pondered his move, and then he yelled, "I summon Blazing Inpachi (1850/0) in attack mode." A giant log monster appeared before Hayku. A second after it was summoned, it suddenly burst into flames. The only part of its body that wasn't engulfed was the big number 18 on his chest. "Now I throw down a face down, and end my turn. Your move." "Ok," said Nezbitt "I draw. And now I summon the Injection Fairy Lily (400/1500) in attack mode!" A tiny fairy dressed in hospital clothes, wielding a giant syringe, had been summoned before Nezbitt. "No wait! I activate Bottomless Trap Hole!" "Well it's just too bad that my monster is under the 1500 attack point limit on your card, so you just wasted it!" A large hole had appeared on the bottom of the dueling field, but it disappeared. 'Dammit,' Hayku thought 'How'd I forget about the limit?' "I end my turn" Nezbitt continued. "Now I go. Draw!" As Hayku drew another card from his deck, he whispered, "Solar Flare, Solar Flare…" As Hayku saw the card that he had just drawn, he yelled out loud. "Yes," he exclaimed, "Now I play the Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000)!" As soon as he had thrown the card onto his Duel Disk, the whole dueling field was overcome with fire. From the flames emerged a scaly horned dragon, ready to attack. "Now I set a card, and end my turn." As the words escaped his mouth, the Dragon reared its head back, and launched a ball of flame at Nezbitt. Hayku saw the white hairs on his opponent's head singe. "Oops, did I forget to tell you about my Solar Flare Dragon's second effect? Every time I end my turn, you lose 500 Life Points.

Nezbitt 7500

Hayku 8000

Your move." Hayku finished. "Ok" Nezbitt began, "I draw," After thinking for a moment, Nezbitt continued, "place a card in defense mode and attack with my Lily, because it gains 3000 attack points at the cost of 2000 of my Life Points,"

Nezbitt 5500

Hayku 8000

"Attack his Dragon, Lily!" The monster's syringe filled with a red liquid that seemed like blood. The tiny winged nurse than grew triple-fold, and ran toward the dragon of flame. She stuck her syringe into the opposition's head and squeezed it. The liquid ran out. And she returned to her original size and original side of the field. Meanwhile, Solar Flare Dragon was obliterated.

Nezbitt 5500

Hayku 6100

"My turn is over. Go." Hayku draws yet another card and places it in his hand. "Aha! Now, I sacrifice my Blazing Inpachi for my Thestalos, the Firestorm Monarch! (2400/1000)" An armored monster with flaming red hair and a fire ball in its hand had just appeared. "And because of its special ability, I get to take one card out of your hand and out it in the graveyard! I choose the card on your right!" "Shit! There goes my Exodia's Right Leg. Heheheheheh." "Now Thestalos, attack his Lily!" The monster threw his fireball at the fairy, burning her to a crisp.

Nezbitt 3500

Hayku 6100

"Ha ha. I'm halfway down the road to beating you. Now I activate my face down Call of the Haunted trap card to bring back my Solar Flare Dragon from the dead!" A grave stone had appeared on the field, and a spirit rose from the open grave. It was the spirit of the Solar Flare Dragon! It solidified, and Hayku found the card in his graveyard, and placed it on the field. "I end my turn and you lose another 500 Life Points!" Again, the dragon reared back its head, and fired another fire ball at Nezbitt.

Nezbitt 3000

Hayku 6100

"Go." "And I will, but first, I must draw. Aha!" Nezbitt said this after he laid eyes on the card that he had just drawn. Perfect. Now, I lay a monster face-down on the field and my turn is done." A chill ran down Hayku's spine. 'What did he just put down?' he wondered. Whatever, it was his turn to go now. "I draw, and I remove my Blazing Inpachi from the Graveyard out of play, in order to play my Spirit of Flames (1700/1000)!" A giant, Obelisk the Tormentor-like red monster had crowded the dueling arena. "He gains 300 attack points on my turn. So now, Spirit, attack one of his face-down monsters!" A brief image of right arm floated in the air before the Spirit of Flames obliterated it. "One down, one to go! Solar Flare dragon, attack his other face down monster!" this time, I tree jar appeared. Nezbitt yelled, "Aha! You've just activated my Fiber Jar's special ability, Game restart! The graveyard, hand, and deck go together and we shuffle. Then, we draw 5 new cards." They both did the motions that Nezbitt had just explained, and they both looked over their new cards. "It's still my turn, so…I attack with Thestalos directly!" The monster covered in armor ran up to Nezbitt, and threw a ball of flame right at his face. He yelled out in pain.

Nezbitt 600

Hayku 6100

"Ha ha, you're almost done! Now a set a card and I end my turn. Draw, Nezbitt." "I will, and…" "And you just activated my trap card, Ring of Destruction! I equip it to my Thestalos! Thanks buddy." A ring had just appeared on Thestalos' finger, and he walked to the middle of the room. The ring exploded, along with Thestalos himself, and his remains damaged both Hayku and Nezbitt. "And I win. Not even Exodia can save you."

Nezbitt 0

Hayku 3700

"You lose, Nezbitt. Only two more now…huh?" Hayku had stopped speaking for he saw that the room was aflame! Thestalos imploding had caused the holographic image generator on Nezbitt's Duel Disk to overload, and it exploded as well, causing, him to die, leaving the room to burn with Hayku still inside! He thought fast for a way to get out. The doors were welted, so they wouldn't open. Hayku was starting to feel light-headed. The effects of the smoke was getting to him. He started flailing around on the ground, looking for a way out. Finally, he saw it: an air vent (why is it always an air vent?) positioned on his left. He struggled to open it, but soon enough, he succeeded. He crawled through the tiny opening, his lungs screaming for air. They found it in the vent, but it was scarce. Hayku continues to crawl through, looking for a way out. The claustrophobia-inducing vent ended at a flap. Hayku goes through, ready to do anything to escape the inferno behind his. When he went through, he saw that his insanity had caused him to make a mistake. He was now flailing his arms again, but this time through air, as he had forgotten to notice that every time he beat a duelist, the hallway went uphill. When he face Nezbitt, he was on the 33 story of the building whose windows Hayku was now passing as he free fell 3,300 feet toward solid concrete…


	4. Chapter 4

Name: Shawn Sousa, as always

Title: Darkness vs. Darkness, Part 4

Warnings: Same old, same old

Genre: Action, as usual

Summary: After free-falling to his death (or did he?), Hayku duels one more time. But this time, the stakes are bigger…

NOTE: blah blah blah blah blah, no one actually reads this, so screw it.

DARKNESS VS. DARKNESS, PART 4

Hayku was still free-falling through the air. His mind was wondering to and fro, but it was always centering on one memory…

_A young, thirty year-old Hayku was skipping home from another wonderful day at college. He unlocks the door, and steps in._

"_Mom, I'm home! Mom?" Hayku said that last line with a worried tone, for he now saw that the phone line had been cut. He enters his mother's room and saw her dead body, limp, with gunshot wounds to the head, chest, and neck. "MMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!"_

This was a new record for Hayku since he was 8 years-old: this was the second time he saw that image in a day. He had gotten over the death when he was nine. It still hurt now and now again, but he mostly gotten over it. Now he was witnessing these images again. What was happening to him? Well, it didn't matter now, because he had seen it: the white light everyone said that you would see when it was time for you to die. Hayku wasn't fazed by this, he merely accepted it, although he felt a tear escape his eye and slowly go down his cheek. He closed his eyes, for what was to be the last time, and gave up his life…

"Where am I and why am I here?" Hayku grumbled out while strapped on to a hospital gurney. Then he heard a mysterious voice from behind the curtain surrounding Hayku's bed. "You are here because my machines chose you to be here. They decided not to bring your decks with you." "Huh? My decks?" Hayku's hand automatically moved to his pocket, where he kept all of his decks. But his hand came out with nothing. "Where are my cards?" "I told you, the machines decided not to bring them." "Wh-what are y-y-you saying? D-d-did I lose all of my cards?" "All of those were in your pocket, yes." "But what about the ones taped to the back of my Duel Disk?" "I never knew about those. Here is your Duel Disk. See if you can find any cards." "O-ok. Wait. Who the hell are you?" "My name is Aaron, and I'm the master of Machines. Now, they did not just save your life for nothing, you know. They demand a price. And for them, the perfect price, and meal, would be your soul. Now, let's have a duel. The winner keeps his soul. The loser becomes lunch for my Cyber End Dragon." "A duel? But all I have is my extra cards! I can't duel with a whole deck made out of useless cards!" "so you'd rather give up your soul without a fight?" "No! fine whatever. I'll just have to use these." "While I use my unstoppable Cyber deck! Hahahahaha!" "Whatever. I'll still beat you." "I find that highly unlikely, but no matter. Let's duel!" Aaron helped his opponent up, at which Hayku was astounded. Then Hayku took his time strapping his Duel Disk on, for he was thinking about possible combos he could use with his extras deck. Hayku's mind was stopped as if it had faced a brick wall that it couldn't get around. Even as he put his deck into his Duel Disk, and watching as his opponent did the same, Hayku was wondering if this would be the last time he witnessed these things. He had faced tough matches before, but facing a machine deck (which he knew was a good choice of deck, because he had one himself) when only using tradeable cards? That was madness. But it was a madness that Hayku had to face, because Aaron had already begun to talk again. "I think that you can go first. My machines have requested it." "And I will! I draw."

Aaron 8000

Hayku 8000

Hayku believed that he had not gotten a good beginning hand, although he wondered if getting a good hand was possible with this deck. Anyways, he had chosen his beginning move. "I play the Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000), in attack mode!" Just like the last time he had played the card, the whole dueling field went ablaze with fire. And again, from the flames emerged a scaly horned dragon, the Solar Flare Dragon. "And I end my turn, and because of my Dragon's special ability, you lose 500 Life Points." The dragon leapt forward, and took a bite out of Aaron's Duel Disk, but it returned to normal once he lost the allotted amount of Life Points.

Aaron 7500

Hayku 8000

"Your move." "I will draw. Ha ha! I have drawn the main card of my deck. It is a card called the Cyber Dragon! Now, normally when I want to play it, I have to sacrifice a monster because it is a level 5 card. Bit when there is a monster on your side of the field and no monster on my side of the field, I can special summon it from my hand to the field! Say hello to my Cyber Dragon (2100/1600)!" A silver dragon made entirely on metal had just appeared before Aaron. "Because that was a special summon, I am still allowed a normal summon for this turn. And the card I choose to normal summon is the Cybernetic Cyclopean (1400/200)!" A giant, The Hulk type monster with metal placed sporadically placed upon his body now appeared next to the Dragon. "Now my Cyber Dragon, attack his Solar Flare Dragon!" The metal menace flew straight toward its fire counterpart. It flew right past it, and returned to its original position. Then, the Solar Flare Dragon's newly separated parts slid away into different directions, and it was destroyed. "And now Cybernetic Cyclopean, attack his Life Points directly! Titanium-toe Thump!" The other metal menace shifted its foot, and it slammed right into Hayku, and he was thrown backwards.

Aaron 7500

Hayku 6000

"Your move." "Now I draw. Aha! I don't think that you'll attack me directly again, for I play the continuous spell card known as the Dark Door! It makes it so we can only attack with one monster per turn. And now I play Fox Fire (300/200) in attack mode." A mall, cute, flaming red fox had appeared onto the field, and it jumped into Hayku's arms. He set it back down onto the floor, where it bared its 'fangs' which really was only his two front teeth, and it sat down. "And now I play another magic card. This one is called Creature Swap!" Like the last time he played it, in the first duel of what was supposed to be a 5 duel series until he landed in this hospital, two arrows in a circular formation appeared on the ground, and the red fox was transferred to Aaron's side while the massive metallic menace (I like the letter m) of the Cyber Dragon was changed to Hayku's side. And now, my newly acquired Dragon will attack what used to be my Fox Fire!" The dragon flew by the fox in the same way as it flew by the Solar Flare Dragon. But instead on splitting in to pieces, it burst into flames, until all that was left were ashes. "My Fox Fire has a special effect. Because it was destroyed in face up mode, it gets returned onto the field, just like a phoenix. And because it was my card, it comes back on my side of the field." The ashes blew toward Hayku's side of the field, and once they settled, they burst into flames again. Then, out of the flames appeared the Fox Fire, good as new.

Aaron 5700

Hayku 6000

"And now I end my turn." "Now it is my turn. I draw, I set a monster face down on the field, and I switch my Cybernetic Cyclopean to defense mode. I end." "Now, yet again, it is my turn. I play the magic card Nobleman of Crossout on your face down monster." From the card appeared a night in shining armor, whose long sword cut-threw the face down card, which was a Flash Assailant (2000/2000), and it got removed from play, never to be used again in this duel. "Now I sacrifice my Fox Fire to summon my Summoned Skull (2500/1200)!" a hulking menace of a skull monster appeared next to the Cyber Dragon, taking the Fox Fire's position. "Now Cyber Dragon, attack his Cybernetic Cyclopean!" The dragon went through its attack rituals yet again, this time destroying another fellow metallic monster. "Now I end my turn, only to begin yours." "That is correct, so I will begin my turn, like always, by drawing a card from my deck. Now, I play my newly drawn Drilligo (1600/1100) onto the field." A monster made of drills had taken its own zone of the field. It had a very long drill positioned on its nose. "Now, you see, Drilligo likes to impress all the big guys with all of his drilling skills. So, when the only monsters on the opponent's side of the field are ones with 1600 attack points or more, he can drill right under them, and right into your Life Points!" The drill monster jumped up, pointed its nose straight at the ground, and it started drilling. For a few moments, all you could hear was the sound of Drilligo drilling. Then, suddenly, he popped out of the ground, and he aimed his spinning nose of death right at Hayku. He was a little bit spooked at the attack, but a few seconds later, he went back to normal.

Aaron 5700

Hayku 4400

"I end my turn." "And I will gladly begin mine by drawing a card. Aha! This is great! Now I play the magic card Mystic Wok!" A couple of people stirring a giant pot of a steaming soup crowded the field. Then Hayku continued talking. "With this card, I can sacrifice a monster to convert either his attack or defense points into Life Points for me! Now, I sacrifice my Cyber Dragon, and I choose its 2100 attack points to be added to my Life Points!" The people stopped stirring, and they began to walk toward the dragon. The picked him up, at which point, he began to roar. The people then threw him into the pot, and they began to stir him in. Then, one of the people got out a glass vial, and he filled it up with the Cyber Dragon soup. Them he threw it at Hayku, but the stains disappeared as soon as they went on.

Aaron 5700

Hayku 6500

"Now I'll have my Summoned Skull attack your Drilligo." The giant skull monster had created a thunder ball in his hands, and he threw it at the drill creature.

Aaron 5800

Hayku 6500

"Now I end my turn, so you can get your chance at payback. Wow, I though that your 'unstoppable deck' would be better than this!" "I'll show you how to learn your place, you little…" "Hey let's keep it nonviolent! (Sorry Keith, I just couldn't resist!)" "Huh? Whatever, because it's time for me to get my game face on! Now I play the Different Dimension Capsule!" A futuristic-looking sarcophagus, lying open, had appeared on the field. "This card lets me choose 1 card from my deck, and then it goes into the capsule. Then, in two turns, the card escapes the capsule and it goes into my hand." Aaron chose a card, threw the card onto the ground, where it lay with the Flash Assailant, and shuffled his deck. "Now I set card face-down on the field and I end my turn." "I draw to begin what I feel is a blockbuster turn! First, I set a monster. Then, I will have my Summoned Skull attack your face-down card!" Another ball of thunder unleashed from the Summoned Skull's hands. It hit the face down card, but before it was destroyed, Hayku caught a glimpse of what it was. "A Jetroid, huh? I use all of the 'Roid monsters in the deck I have… wait." 'The deck I HAD, I should have said.' Hayku thought. "Well, it's your turn to go." You could hear the pain resounding in Hayku's voice. "1 turn has past on my Different Dimension Capsule. And now I play the Mystic Swordsman, Level 3 (900/0)! A small, samurai-like swordsman appeared on the field. "And now, I'll use my Swordsman's special ability to destroy your face-down card!" The height-deficient monster threw its sword at the face-down card. After seeing what card it was, Aaron was astounded. "A Creator Incarnate? You own The Creator and don't include it in a deck?" "Uh…yeah, of course." 'He thinks I own The Creator! Hahahahaha' Hayku thought. "I end my turn." "Now I draw, so I can have my Summoned Skull attack your Mystic Swordsman, Level 3!" The only thing that was left after the Summoned Skull's attack was the little guy's sword.

Aaron 3200

Hayku 6500

"And now I end." "This is the last turn for my Capsule, so now the card that I took out of my deck goes into my hand." The Capsule cracked open, and the card that was on the ground leapt into Aaron's hand. "Now I use the card that I've now acquired, the Cyber Dragon's, effect to special summon it onto the field." A clone of the previous Cyber Dragon took its spot on the field. "And now I'll normal summon my Exiled Force (1000/1000), and I'll use ITS effect to sacrifice it and bring your monster to the Graveyard with it." The large group of rioters that had appeared next to the Cyber Dragon charged at the Summoned Skull, and then they both suddenly disappeared. "Now my Cyber Dragon will attack your Life Points directly!" The Dragon attacked as always, but this time the attack was directed at Hayku.

Aaron 3200

Hayku 4400

"Now I end." "Okay. I'll draw and play Fox Fire (300/200)." A copy of the previous Fox Fire 'stormed' the battle field. "And I end." "Not much to do, eh? Whatever. I'll play Nanobreaker (1600/1800)!" A machine-woman with a cyber sword had taken its spot on the field. "With her effect, I can send one Level 3 or lower monster on the other side of the field to the graveyard. And I choose your Fox Fire!" Like the Mystic Swordsman, Level 3, the Nanobreaker threw he sword at the opposition. The sword cut right through the tiny fox. "And because your Fox Fire didn't get destroyed as a result of battle," Aaron continued, "you don't get its effect. Now, Cyber Dragon, attack him directly again!" The Dragon cut through Hayku's Life Points yet again.

Aaron 3200

Hayku 2300

"And I end my turn." "I'll draw, set a monster, throw down a face-down and end my turn." "Now I draw, and I'll sacrifice my Nanobreaker for my Jinzo (2400/1500)!" A slightly humanoid, slightly mechatron monster with long arms, a cape, and a brain that exceeded the boundaries of his cranium took its spot on the field. "With my Jinzo, neither of us can activate trap cards. And with its 2400 attack points, I believe that it is formidable enough to destroy your face-down monster!" A glowing orb of electricity was created in Jinzo's hands. It suddenly shot out, hit the hologram representation of Hayku's face down monster, which was a Gazelle (1500/1200), and then it got destroyed. "I can't destroy you any further because of your Dark Door card, so I end my turn. Your move." "Okay I'll draw." 'Dammit,' Hayku thought. 'He's got me cornered. I can't do anything else!' "I'll set another monster on the field and I end my turn." "Are my machines are proving to be too much for your unworthy deck? Don't worry; this duel won't last much longer. My machines are saying that they can already taste your flesh. And believe me, they can get pretty hungry. No matter, let us get back to our duel. I draw, and I'll have my Jinzo attack your face-down card again!" The Jinzo went through its attack ritual again, and Aaron was mocking Hayku after he saw what monster was face-down on the field. "Another Gazelle? I must say, I thought that since this deck was so good, your extra cards would be… oh crap." "What do you mean? Wait a minute! You stole my cards! You **_BLEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!_** I'll destroy you! No wonder I found so many similarities between your deck and mine! GIVE IT BACK!" "No! You have to remember the old saying: Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers. Now weep! Hahahahaha!" Aaron's laugh was a maniacal one, and it brought pain into Hayku's ears. "But what about my other decks?" "They're right here, in my pocket. How happy I was to break the fall of the great Hayku Konohamaru, and find his cards all around me. So I took the worst combination of cards that I could, taped them to the back of your Duel Disk, and I showed to you that the cards were there right before you passed out. So, as soon as you awoke from that comatose state, I started talking about cards, and of course, because the last thing you saw were the cards taped on the back of the Duel Disk, that's what you remembered! Hahahahaha!" "You know what, even with this horrible deck of cards, I'll still beat you! And after I kill you, I'll take my cards back!" "We shall see in the end whose life that will be taken. I accept your challenge, and I end my turn to continue the duel." "Fine, let's see what this crappy deck will give me. Gahhhhhhh! I'll set a card and throw down another face-down and end my turn." "Ha ha, I see that my choice of cards is working to guide me to the correct path that leads to your downfall. I will draw, also set a monster card, and I'll use my Jinzo to attack your face-down card. I end." "And I draw, set a card and end my turn." "C'mon Hayku. Show a little bit of originality. You've played that same exact move 3 times now. Aren't you supposed to be the successor to Yugi Motou's legacy? Whatever, I'll draw, and I'll flip my face-down Dark Mimic, Level 1 (100/1000) to wipe that smirk off your ugly face." Out on the field, treasure box appeared. A moment later out popped a vile-looking fiend with drool escaping his mouth. "My Dark Mimic, Level 1 has an effect that lets me draw a card whenever it gets flipped. So, I draw. Aha! Your death has come to you soon, for I have just drawn the Power Bond Magic card. Even though you know what it does, as it WAS your card, I'll tell you. It is like a Polymerization, but only for Machine monsters. But unlike Polymerization, Power Bond DOUBLES the attack points of the fused monster. Now, I'll play Power Bond to fuse the Cyber Dragon that I have on the field, and the Cyber Dragon that I have in my hand to summon the great Cyber Twin Dragon (2800/2100)!" A factory replaced the white walls of the hospital that they were dueling in. then, two Cyber Dragons were placed in Capsules, and a strong light blinded Hayku. When he regained his vision, a two-headed version of the Cyber Dragon stood before him. "Cyber Twin Dragon, attack his face down card with your 5600 attack points!" A fire ball shot out of one of the Dragons' heads, mutilating Hayku's sole defense. "Because the Cyber Twin Dragon has two heads, it can attack twice during the same Battle Phase! And since its one monster, it can still go through your Dark Door! Cyber Twin Dragon, attack his Life Points directly to end this duel!" The Dragons' other head also created a fireball, and it went hurling straight toward Hayku. "I can't believe that I've actually lost. I did the best I could, and because of this crappy deck, I lost." And for the 3rd time that day, a memory flashed in Hayku's mind…

_A young, thirty year-old Hayku was skipping home from another wonderful day at college. He unlocks the door, and steps in._

"_Mom, I'm home! Mom?" Hayku said that last line with a worried tone, for he now saw that the phone line had been cut. He enters his mother's room and saw her dead body, limp, with gunshot wounds to the head, chest, and neck. "MMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!"_

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Hayku screeched, as he knew that his life was over. The fire ball hit him right in the chest, and he went flying backwards.

Aaron 3200

Hayku 0

"It's over Hayku Konohamaru, your life is over. Have a nice time at the Shadow Realm!" Aaron said, mocking Hayku. But Hayku did not hear Aaron's false farewell, for he was already in the Shadow Realm. He was flying through the air, signs reading "Come to the Shadows, We Have Cookies!" flashing by. His aerial adventure was brought to an end shorter than Hayku expected, for he was sent hurling in the opposite direction by an unseen force. Then he heard a dark voice, resonating from a man shrouded in shadows, saying "Revenge is golden, silence is not. Here is your chance to redeem yourself, take it… if you dare." A moment later, Hayku saw who had spoke to him, and he couldn't believe it: he had spoken with Death himself……………………………………………………………...


	5. Chapter 5

Name: Just guess

Title: Darkness vs. Darkness, Part 5

Warnings: Fighting monsters. EGAD!

Genre: Super-cool monster action.

Summary: Now the stakes are larger….Death itself (literally.)

NOTE: You'd think I'd figure out that no one reads this by now.

DARKNESS VS. DARKNESS, PART 5

Hayku was lying down, frozen with shock, as Death's cape billowed out from behind him. "So what is it going to be?" Death croaked in his deep, dark-sounding voice. "Are you, Hayku, the newest member of the Shadows, going to accept my challenge and bow down to my ultimate rule?" After a moment, Hayku rummaged up enough courage to speak to Death. "B-but I-I d-don't have a-any c-cards." Then both Death and Hayku leapt back in bewilderment as another voice entered the conversation. "That's why I'm stepping in!" Hayku looked up. The owner of the voice was a teenager, not much older than Hayku. "I Mokuba Kaiba, refuse to sand in this darkness any longer! If he leaves, I leave!" "Fine, if it's a two-on-one duel you want, then that's what you're going to get!" Death croaked. "I'm afraid that it can't be a two-on-one duel because I don't have any cards." This was in fact a lie. He still had the cards he dueled Aaron with, but he didn't wasn't to embarrass his dueling skills, nor have Death ridicule him. "Don't worry about that. I'll supply the decks!" at this, Mokuba reached into his pocket, pulled out a deck box, opened it, upended the box, and retrieve its contents. After reviewing the deck for a couple of minutes, he returned it to the deck box, and he threw the deck box at Hayku. "Whoa!" he yelled, surprised at the throw. But he still caught it flawlessly. "What kind of deck is this?" he asked. "It's a Chaos Deck." Mokuba responded calmly, as they heard a gasp escape from Death's mouth. "Wow a Chaos deck. I've heard that these can be pretty good." Hayku responded. "I don't care how good your decks are! They still can't beat me own! Hahahahaha!" Death said, his voice returning to normal. "Fine! Let's dUel!" Mokuba and Hayku yelled at the same time. As those words escaped their mouths, they heard a large sound coming from behind them. It sounded like a whirlwind, and they were in the middle of it! Moments later, they saw what was making the sound. Cards. Thousands of them. Millions even, all rushing at the threesome. They Hayku heard a dark laugh escaping Death's lips. "Not the conditions you were expecting, now were they? But this is how 'rescue' duels in the Shadow Realm go. Hahahahaha!" "Lets begin this duel!" Hayku said, as his secretly took the horrible deck that Aaron made for his out of his Duel Disk, and replaced it with the one that Mokuba had given him. "Pssst. My deck is a steam deck." Mokuba whispered to Hayku. "Oh, and whatever you do, don't play Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning until I tell you too. I'm entrusting you with my rarest card, so submit to my will!" re continued. "I believe that it is time for you two to stop mumbling and draw your cards!" Death yelled, clearly ticked off. "Because you two took too long, I will begin. I draw." At that, he whipped his giant scythe and swiped at the air one, two, three, six times, and each time a card got stuck on the scythe. After he had swung his curved blade six times, he placed the vile-looking weapon on its sheath positioned on his back. "That is how I draw. So actually, my deck is consisted of 1 million cards!" Death yelled out, obviously ecstatic.

Mokuba 8000

Hayku 8000

Death 8000

"Now I will begin this duel by played a monster face-down on the field." Death chose a card from his hand, and threw it on the ground. "Aha! Your Death is sealed. Now, at the cost of 2000 of my Life Points, I shall play the magic card Final Countdown!" Death threw the card down onto the ground, and immediately 20 darkened orbs ascended from the card. They took their spot around the three duelists, surrounding them in a circle of orbs.

Mokuba 8000

Hayku 8000

Death 6000

1 Glowing Death Orb

"This is the card that will make this duel take very little time. With Final Countdown, this duel is shortened to 20 turns. Starting with this turn, every time some one ends their turn, 1 orb lights up. As soon as all 20 are lit, I win the duel!" Death exclaimed. "Now I end my turn." As soon as Death said this, Hayku noticed that one of the orbs started glowing. "If it is fine with you, I would like to begin my turn now." Mokuba asked Hayku. "Sure." He replied, and even before the words left his lips, Mokuba was already drawing his card. "I'll begin by playing the magic card Level Limit Area B!" Mokuba threw the card down onto his Duel Disk, and suddenly the 20 orbs rose up, and replacing where they were was a factory, with giant Egyptian-style statues moving along on conveyor belts, and disappearing into a door marked with a letter B on it. Then the circle of orbs stretched out more, so as to surround the factory now on the field. "Level Limit Area B makes it so all monsters Level 4 and above are forced to go to defense mode. Now, to compliment my Level Limit Area B, I shall play The Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000)!" Just like the other 3 or 4 times Solar Flare Dragon was played in one of Hayku's duels, a red, scaled dragon appeared on the field, in a defensive stance, and annoyed at the storm of cards that were constantly hitting him. "I end my turn, adding 1 more glowing orb to the total of 20 and making you lose 500 Life Points." Simultaneously, 1 more orb started glowing, and the Dragon reared its ugly head back, and heaved a fire ball at Death. But unexpectedly, the Dragon turned, and also shot a fire ball at Hayku!

Mokuba 8000

Hayku 7500

Death 5500

2 Glowing Death Orbs

"What was that for!" Hayku yelled. "That is the rules of a team duel. It affects all the people on the field except for the user of the card. And unfortunately, that includes you." Mokuba replied, calm as ever. "Whatever, I'll just go." At that Hayku drew a card from his deck. "To begin my turn, I'll play the magic card Nobleman of Crossout." Hayku threw down the card into his Duel Disk, and a knight in shining armor appeared on the field. He threw his sword at Death's face-down monster, and the sword went right through it. Then, the sword continued its travel through the air, and it went right through 2 more cards from the air. "I've caught onto your plan 'Death', if that really is your name. You say that your deck is consisted of 1 million cards, but that's a lie. You probably have a vacuum sucking up all the cards, leading them through a tube, and dropping them off in front of a fan, creating a continuous stream of cards. Because if you really had '1 million cards', than my Nobleman of Crossout's second effect wouldn't have worked as quickly as it did. You see, that card lets me remove 1 face down monster from play. However, if my opponent has more copies of that card in his deck, than they get removed from play also. And if you really had '1 million cards', than it would've taken forever for my card to find the copies! Your mind games won't work on us anymore, 'Death'. Reveal yourself to us and continue like a man, without all the smoke and mirrors." Hayku said, and he was out of breath by the end of his lengthy speech. "HOW DARE YOU CRITIZIZE ME, YOUNG MORTAL!" Death yelled. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU! ARE YOU GOING TO CONTINUE THE DUEL OR NOT!" "I will, once you put the three cards I removed from play away from the range of the vacuum." "GAHHHHHH! STOP IT! HERE, I'F YOU'RE SO WORRIED ABOUT IT, THAN TAKE CARE OF THEM YOUR SELF!" At that, Death threw the triplet of cards at Hayku, and he caught them and put them into his fastened pocket. "Gladly." He replied cunningly. "I will continue by throwing down 2 face-downs, 1 magic or trap, and one monster, and ending my turn. And because my teammate has control of the Solar Flare Dragon, I get to use it as well. Mokuba, I know you're on my team, but I believe it is time for some payback." The Dragon reared its head back again, and this time let out 2 fire balls at once, one aimed at Death, the other aimed at Mokuba. Needless to say, they both hit their mark. "But another turn has ended, so another orb needs to light up, for a total of three." Death said as the fire ball collided with him.

Mokuba 7500

Hayku 7500

Death 5000

3 Glowing Death Orbs

"I shall draw." Death swung his long scythe at the air again, adding another card to his hand. "Now I will put a monster face-down and a magic or trap face-down as well, mimicking the taller mortal's move. What is your name again?" "Konohamaru. Hayku Konohamaru. Remember it." "Thank you Hayku. I believe that it will be a shame for a lad with such a remarkable name to spend eternity in the Shadow Realm! Hahahahaha! I end, adding yet another turn to my Final Countdown." Another orb lit up. "And that makes 4."

4 Glowing Death Orbs

Mokuba said a hint of dread in his voice. "I'll draw. Ahhhh. I've got nothing to do except to place a monster face-down and ending my turn." The Dragon attacked yet again, reducing Life Points as the 5th orb lit up.

Mokuba 7500

Hayku 7000

Death 4500

5 Glowing Death Orbs

"I'll begin my move by drawing a card, and I will place another monster face-down on the field, and end my turn, making a total of 6 glowing orbs, and more life point losses occur." Hayku said quickly.

Mokuba 7000

Hayku 7000

Death 4000

6 Glowing Death Orbs

"I will begin my turn by drawing." Death said as he swung the scythe yet again. "I'll end my turn to add another glowing orb to the 6 that are already lit to ensure that the end of this duel will come in at most 13 turns."

7 Glowing Death Orbs

"I'll draw." Mokuba said. "I have the perfect hand. All I need to make this duel end in shorter than 13 turns is one more card. In the mean time, I'll end my turn to add another glowing orb and subtract another pair of 500 Life Points.

Mokuba 7000

Hayku 6500

Death 3500

8 Glowing Death Orbs

"I'll draw and end my turn."

Mokuba 6500

Hayku 6500

Death 3000

9 Glowing Death Orbs

"At this point, you'll never get to 20 orbs." Hayku said to Death. "Let's until I complete my turn to make such false judgments. I draw, and I play the magic card Snatch Steal to steal your Solar Flare Dragon." When Death threw the card down, a masked hoodlum leaped from the card, jar of water in hand, and ran right at the Dragon. The Dragon then got trapped in the jar, and the dragon-napper ran to Death's side of the field again, where he took the Solar Flare Dragon out of the jar and placed it on the field in front of Death. "I end my turn, and each of you looses 500 Life Points, but you gain 100 on each of my turns.

Mokuba 6000

Hayku 6000

Death 3000

10 Glowing Death Orbs

"It's my turn. I'll draw. Ahhhh. I'll end my turn!"

11 Glowing Death Orbs

"Now it's my turn. I draw, and I play Exiled Force (1000/1000) and sacrifice him to destroy your Solar Flare Dragon that is actually Mokuba's!" An angry mob stormed the field, and they rushed at the Dragon, hacking and slashing him to death, but not before the Solar Flare Dragon brought them down as well. "And I end my turn."

12 Glowing Death Orbs

"It's my turn to go." Death said as he made his scythe slice through the air again. "You two do not gain Life Points as my Snatch Steal went down with the Dragon. I have nothing to do. I end my turn."

13 Glowing Death Orbs

"I shall go. I draw and play Snatch Steal. I shall steal on of Hayku's face-down monsters. I flip up the face-down card, which turns out to be a Sangan (1000/600), and attack Hayku!" 'I know what he's trying to do.' Hayku thought. 'He wants me to play 'the card'. But how does he know that I have a Mirror Force face-down? Whatever.' "I'll activate my face-down Mirror Force. Now all the monsters on the field get sent to the graveyard, and I get to use Sangan's effect." Hayku exclaimed as he searched his deck for a suitable card. "Aha! I've got it. I play Berserk Gorilla (2000/1000), but it goes into defense mode, and it gets destroyed." "I end my turn." Mokuba said.

14 Glowing Death Orbs

"I draw." Hayku says. "I end."

15 Glowing Death Orbs

"The end is near." Death said. "I draw and end my turn."

16 Glowing Death Orbs

"My move." Mokuba said. "My hand has too many cards, so I discard it. I end."

17 Glowing Death Orbs

"I'll draw and end." Hayku said.

18 Glowing Death Orbs

"Only 2 more turns. I don't need to do anything else, so I end." Death said.

19 Glowing Death Orbs

"I'm sorry, Hayku, but I've got nothing to do. I gave you my best deck. I'm sorry." Mokuba said, with sadness in his voice. "I must end."

20 Glowing Death Orbs

"Unfortunately, you have this last turn. This is the end. Hayku Konohamaru, go." Death said. "And I've got the perfect move to do." Hayku responded. "No! You can't!" Mokuba suddenly yelled. "But it's the only chance we have!" "I don't care. Whatever you do, do not play that card!" "I don't know about you, but I don't want to live here, even if it isn't really the Shadow Realm. I have a family, and because of these freaks, I haven't seen them in a week!" Hayku was beginning to lose his temper. "I'm sick of this! I don't want to do this anymore! I've had enough! I don't want to live in this nightmare anymore! I'll do whatever it takes to end this! Even if it means I can't duel again! Now, I will take 1 dark monster and 1 light monster from my graveyard out of play to play the Chaos Emperor Dragon Envoy of the End (3000/2500)!" A giant, 4 legged behemoth of a monster appeared on the field, while Mokuba cowered in fear, crying away. "Now, I pay 1000 Life Points to destroy all the cards in our hands and on the field. For each, you lose 300 Life Points. I have 6, my friend over here has 7 and I can see that you have 9. That makes a total of 22 cards. 22 times 300 is a total of 6600 Life Points. And that means that you lose." The Dragon leapt into the air, and it crashed down, instantly ending the duel.

Mokuba 6000

Hayku 5000

Death 0

0 Glowing Death Orbs

"Brother…" Hayku heard Mokuba say. "Are you ok?" he asked him. "You! Don't talk to me! You killed my brother! Didn't you know that that card is banned? That card is too powerful. It kills the one on the receiving end of the attack! You killed my brother!" Mokuba yelled as he ran too Hayku, attempting to punch him. Then he reached into his pocket, and took out a switch blade. "I'll kill you because you killed my brother!" Mokuba yelled, totally loosing control. He managed to cut Hayku a little before a man separated them. "Mokuba, is that how you act when I'm away? I must say, I'm disappointed." The tall man said. "And you, Hayku Konohamaru, are the winner of the 1st annual Virtual Reality tournament!" "Huh?" "My name is Seto Kaiba, and I am the creator of the Virtual Reality capsule your body is in. Now, I was supposed to be here for you to claim your prize, but it seems that you've killed a bit too many of my associates. So, even though you will get recognition as being the champ, you won't win anything! Isn't that the greatest idea…idea…idea…idea?"

_A young, seven year-old Hayku was skipping home from another wonderful day at school. He unlocks the door, and steps in._

"_Mom, I'm home! Mom?" Hayku said that last line with a worried tone, for he now saw that the phone line had been cut. He enters his mother's room and saw her dead body, limp, with gunshot wounds to the head, chest, and neck. "MMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Crack! Crack! Crack! The gun went. And that was the end of Hayku's Konohamaru's life._

"He's pretty good isn't he, mom?" Hayku said, wings on his back, reaching over a shining railing in the sky…


End file.
